The Por Andalucía coalition in Spain has called a meeting of its member parties, including Podemos, for Thursday, April 2nd, to finalize the registration of its candidate list for the upcoming regional elections on May 17th, according to sources within Por Andalucía. The deadline for submitting a unified candidate list to the Electoral Board is 11:59 PM on Friday.
Podemos is not currently part of the new left-wing electoral coalition, having joined the Andalusian regional elections of 2023 at the last minute and after considerable difficulty. The party has not attended coalition meetings in recent months and had indicated it would not participate again. However, in recent days, the national leadership has reversed course, expressing openness to joining the coalition even with the inclusion of Movimiento Sumar.
On Tuesday, Podemos launched a 24-hour consultation among its registered members to gauge support for building a unified candidacy in Andalusia. The question posed to members is: “Do you agree that Podemos Andalucía should seek the necessary agreements to achieve the broadest and most unified candidacy possible for the upcoming Andalusian elections?” The consultation opened at 5:00 PM and will close at 5:00 PM on Wednesday.
The outcome of this consultation will inform Podemos’s position at Thursday’s meeting with the other parties comprising Por Andalucía – Izquierda Unida (IU), Movimiento Sumar, Iniciativa del Pueblo Andaluz, Partido Verde, and Alternativa Republicana. A favorable vote from its members will open a new phase of negotiations regarding Podemos’s integration into the coalition.
A Year and a Half of Non-Participation
For the past year and a half, Podemos has remained on the sidelines of the Por Andalucía coalition, abstaining from participation in its party meetings and the process of rebuilding the coalition.
This process began in October 2024 with a foundational proposal for the coalition. Podemos held its own internal assembly a month later, publicly signaling its limited interest in renewing the formula. In subsequent months, some Andalusian Podemos leaders voiced support for unity, while the national leadership maintained a distance. José Manuel Gómez Jurado, a prominent figure within the Andalusian branch, publicly advocated for a unified approach but ultimately withdrew his candidacy, citing the apparent impossibility of achieving a unified list.
In October 2025, IU and Sumar registered Por Andalucía as a political party without Podemos. Shortly thereafter, the coalition’s party members elected Antonio Maíllo, leader of IU, as Por Andalucía’s candidate for the presidency of the Andalusian regional government. Podemos was not involved in this process and publicly distanced itself from the coalition, citing the presence of Movimiento Sumar as a key factor.
In the interim, a series of regional elections took place in the first quarter of this year. Following a promising result, Podemos failed to secure representation in the regional parliaments of Aragon (0.94% of the vote, compared to 2.94% for IU+Sumar) and Castile and León (0.74%, compared to 2.23% for IU+Sumar) just three weeks ago.
With the Andalusian election date set by Juan Manuel Moreno on March 23rd, Podemos remained silent until Sunday, when its candidate and deputy, Juan Antonio Delgado, offered a “hand of cooperation” and stated that there was “enough time” until Friday to form a unified candidacy.
Confirmation came from Madrid the following day, with Pablo Fernández, the party’s organizational secretary, reiterating the offer and stating there would be no preconditions. The presence of Movimiento Sumar would also not be an obstacle, he explicitly stated.
As of today, the offer has not received an official response from IU. The recent history of last-minute negotiations looms large, recalling the 2022 experience where delayed agreement resulted in Podemos being formally excluded from the coalition, with subsequent consequences for party financing, candidate control, and parliamentary representation. That episode triggered a crisis of confidence among the partners that shaped the coalition’s trajectory for the following four years.
